


This Christmas

by goldengoldies11



Category: Golden Child (Korea Band)
Genre: And Bongbeom had to point it out, Because Dongchan keep on doing gay things towards each other, Bongbeom try to help them, Dongchan hide the feelings, Dongchan know each other for more than five years, Donghyun calls Joochan Joo here, Everyone Is Gay, How Christmas for international Students, Joochan calls Donghyun Hyun here, Just throw that out of a window, M/M, Who needs plot, just pure fluff, nothing new
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-26 12:06:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17141441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldengoldies11/pseuds/goldengoldies11
Summary: Donghyun and Joochan have known each other for more than five years, have celebrated Christmas more than five times, so spending the Christmas night with hot chocolate and monopoly cards, staying under the same roof and keeping warm under the same blanket are pretty much normal for them. In fact, it has been a part of their Christmas routine, so they couldn’t be bothered. But not Jaehyun and Jibeom; they find it toogayto ignore that fact.





	This Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Supposedly the title was something different, but nevermind that.
> 
> It's been awhile since the last time I wrote something, so I apologize for my mistakes here and there. Seriously, why is grammar so hard? I mean, I spend most of the time wondering why grammar is so freaking hard, because for sure, grammar in german is so damn hard, and suddenly idk how to english anymore. Anyway, this is literally just something I didn't plan to write, didn't even plan to upload, but it's Christmas, so I guess, this is it. Enjoy~

When people say ‘time flies’, it really does and Donghyun agrees without hesitation because seven years pass by quickly and in a blink of an eye, he is already in his second year of being a full-time university student, half-time house cleaner. Really, befriending Joochan throughout the seven years and more, Donghyun knows enough that this friend, also his housemate, is pretty bad at cleaning. It has come to a point that Donghyun doesn’t even bother to be mad at Joochan for not doing his share of being housemates.

But if anyone asks Donghyun why he still spends time tolerating with Joochan, instead of kicking him out and find a new housemate, Donghyun will say that Joochan is a good friend - hell no, Joochan is a very good friend, the kind of friend Donghyun doesn’t mind sharing the bed almost every night, sharing living expenses to maintain a normal standard of student’s life outside South Korea, sharing hot chocolate and blanket every Christmas. Seriously, Joochan does so much together with Donghyun, minus being a good housemate, so yes, he is a very good friend and a tolerable one indeed.

However, Jaehyun and Jibeom beg to differ, because even a blind person can see how _gay_ they are towards each other. Seriously, they are, just look at how they spend their normal daily lives as housemates, it’s more than enough to tell.

There was one time where all four of them staying at their place just to catch up with each other while watching a movie, and halfway through it, Donghyun said he was cold and without waiting to be told, Joochan stood up and went to Donghyun’s room to take his blanket. Jaehyun eyed Jibeom knowingly when Joochan even waited for Donghyun to wrap himself with the blanket until he was comfortable with its providing warmth.

The second time was when Jaehyun came over to their place to return Donghyun’s notes on the day he missed the class because of a baseball match, and it took him by surprise when Joochan opened the door with his embarrassing bed hair yet his bed was pretty much made, looking neat and untouched. So, when Jaehyun spotted Joochan’s favorite plushie on Donghyun’s bed, it took almost every sense Jaehyun had at that moment to not leave a comment or point out something.

Because that was beyond _gay_ , even for Jaehyun and Jibeom who are openly and admittedly dating one another, they found it _super, duper gay_.

Being housemates doesn’t mean Donghyun and Joochan have to spend twenty-four hours and seven days with each other, but even so, whenever they spend their own time separately, even when Donghyun goes out with his dancing crew, even when Joochan goes out with his circle who appreciate the art of photography, they will not come back home empty-handed, sometimes they brought back lunch, but most of the times they brought back dinner. And occasionally, they will buy something for each other, those kind of things one unconsciously mentioned of having and the other one happened to remember.

So when all four of them gather again at their place to plan for Christmas, this time with their two friends, Jibeom, who is being frustrated at the oblivious state Donghyun and Joochan are in, casually drops a bomb along the discussion.

“Have you guys ever celebrated Christmas with someone else? Like not with each other? Because spending Christmas by playing monopoly and drinking hot chocolate sounds pretty much gay to me.”

Jaehyun eyes Donghyun and Joochan carefully, but these two friends only let out a chuckle.

“First of all, we never, ever celebrated Christmas without each other. And second of all, monopoly and hot chocolate are like our thing already, you cannot say you disagree with the idea because that’s exactly what me and Donghyun will be doing.”

Donghyun doesn’t even realized Jaehyun and Jibeom are eyeing him when he throws a happy, subtle smile at Joochan.

“How can you guys do those kind of things without realizing how gay it is? Even I and Jaehyun didn’t do that.” Jibeom points out and eyes Jaehyun to join in.

“Remind me again who’s dating who between the four of us, because from the look of it, I can see that you two are dating. Or are you guys secretly doing that behind us?”

That question catches Donghyun off guard for a second, but Joochan immediately shares his opinion before it turns out to be awkward.

“Well, if we are really dating, do you think we will keep it to ourselves?”

“Point taken.” Jibeom agrees almost immediately and Jaehyun slowly nods.

Somehow the silence that comes afterwards starting to kill them because Donghyun asks Joochan something and the atmosphere around them suddenly becomes serious.

“Joo, if let’s say, I ask you out on a date, will you say yes?”

One thing about Joochan is he finds it pretty hard for him to sit down and have a serious conversation or heart-to-heart talk with Donghyun, despite knowing this friend of his for how many years. So, just imagine how hard it is when Donghyun asks this kind of question in front of Jaehyun and Jibeom, who they only know for a year plus. Joochan only knows one solution: by taking it lightly because nothing is serious, even if there’s a hint of seriousness in Donghyun’s voice.

“What are you talking about, Hyun?” Joochan laughs nervously, waving nothing but air. “Aren’t those trips to our favorite coffee shop during our study weeks a date already? We pretty much spent the whole day there, pretending to study when we actually stayed for the coffee and talked.”

Jaehyun sighs as he turns away and Jibeom shakes his head because if this is how Joochan plays dumb, then he sucks at it. And even if Donghyun is surprised by Joochan’s reply, then he is really good at holding it back since he lets out a few chuckles lightly in return. It’s like a normal cycle for this to happen between these two and it really frustrates those who watch them from the side. But one thing Donghyun is not good at holding back is the blushes on his cheeks and ears. 

Whether Joochan decides to ignore that or being too dense to notice, they have to talk to him in private some other time because Donghyun just plays along with Joochan at the moment, like how he used to with that shy smile visible on his face.

“Yeah, those times were pretty much like a date already.”

Jaehyun had it enough. “So if this year one of you guys decide to spend the Christmas separately, will you two agree to it? Donghyun? Joochan?”

As expected, both of them stay quiet, doesn’t want to say no to their almost perfect, very comfortable and in-their-own-world kind of annually routine.

Jaehyun immediately finishes his drink and grabs his coat to leave. “Okay, whatever it is, if you guys finally decide to be clear about this and admit that you two like each other, just keep in mind, I told you so.”

Jibeom grabs his coat as well, going wherever his boyfriend wants to because he would rather be somewhere else than with these two idiots.

“We really want to help you guys, but…” Jibeom sighs, shaking his head before he disappears behind the closed door.

Donghyun and Joochan just sit quietly, trying to process whatever just happened and when they look at each other, they shrug it off their shoulders, as if nothing happened.

“Okay, I’ll clean this first. If you want to use the bathroom, you better go now.” Donghyun breaks the silence as he cleans the table from dirty dishes and leftovers. 

“Right…” Joochan replies as he stands up to leave Donghyun alone in the kitchenette.

They don’t bring up the topic after that, pretty much let it aside as they always do.

 

**December, 21st**

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

Jaehyun asks because he cares about Donghyun, even if they just knew each other since the first day in university, not quite long compared to how Donghyun and Joochan have known each other, but Jaehyun still cares. And when Jaehyun cares, there is nothing stopping him. Not even when they are walking around a mall for the past few hours, trying to find presents for each other.

Truth to be told, Donghyun are not okay, but surely enough can tolerate how he and Joochan are at the moment, because he can’t afford to lose his most precious, only-one-in-this-world kind of friend. They lived through seven whole freaking years, being with one another through any ups and helping each other through any downs, it would’ve been the most perfect lie if Donghyun says he doesn’t have a teeny tiny bit of feeling towards Joochan.

But their friendship is at stake and Donghyun doesn’t want to take the risk. He would rather repress whatever feelings he has than express with a chance of rejection in return.

So, no, Donghyun is not okay with this and Jaehyun doesn’t have to know. 

They stop by at a gift shop, pushing their trolley filled with light decorations and presents inside and they stop once Donghyun spots the card aisle. The silence comes between them, as Donghyun stares at the cards while thinking which one should he give to Joochan, but even then, Jaehyun doesn’t know how to quit.

“Did you just ignore me or you pretend to?”

Donghyun sighes.

“Seriously, Jaehyun. No big of a deal. There is nothing to worry about. Me and Joochan have been doing this whole thing for so many years already. Our parents are even okay with this, knowing how far it takes and how many it costs just to fly back home. He is my only family here, really, it’s okay.”

Jaehyun starts fidgeting, obviously not satisfied with Donghyun’s answer.

“I don’t care whether you guys spend the Christmas together or not, I mean, it’s your thing with him, yeah, sure, amazing! What I care about is you doing absolutely nothing about your feelings. It’s not really healthy, you know, if you keep on repressing.”

Donghyun stops looking at the cards, just to turn and look at Jaehyun in the eyes, feeling defeated.

“I’m fully aware about that, I know. I just don’t feel the urge or rush to tell him. Besides, I have been doing this for so long, I don’t really see if there is any problem.” 

“Okay, what if one day, Joochan suddenly finds someone who he has an interest in and since you’re being this kind of friend who does super gay things but being super straight with him, he decides to go with that person and leave you. What will you do? Aren’t you going to stop him?”

“Well,” Donghyun shrugs the question off his shoulder as if it doesn’t bother him in any way. “We will come back to that question when that actually happens.”

“Kim Donghyun…” Jaehyun groans, doesn’t mean to bother other customers in the shop, but apparently he just did. He bows apologetically with a small “Sorry” under his breath before he turns to Donghyun. He shakes his head before he continues.

“Heads up, I’m planning something with Jibeom for you two. Just keep in mind, if you hesitate, then you have to tell him you like him. Agree?”

“Hey,” Donghyun turns with both hands on his hips, feeling anxious not knowing what Jaehyun and Jibeom have in mind, because for sure when these two combine ideas, it means no good. “I won’t participate in anything you’re planning, Bong Jaehyun. Please, don’t ruin our Christmas with your ridiculous ideas. We made plans for this already.”

“There, there,” Jaehyun rubs Donghyun’s back reassuringly, because for a person that doesn’t show much reaction, Donghyun expresses quite a lot in his own way when it comes to Joochan. “Don’t you worry, it won’t ruin Christmas, I can assure you that. Just remember what I said, okay?”

Donghyun eyes Jaehyun suspiciously because for sure, he has something up his sleeves, because Bong Jaehyun doesn’t know the meaning of giving up. Well, whatever it is, Donghyun nods in hope that Jaehyun won’t overdo it. He looks at Jaehyun one last time before he turns back to the aisle.

“Okay, Jaehyun, help me.” Donghyun holds out two Christmas cards. “Which one should I give to Joochan?”

Jaehyun feels like punching Donghyun in the face.

 

**December, 22nd**

_with much love, can you please buy these for our sugar cookies?_  
_all-purpose flour type 550_  
_butter_  
_vanilla extract_

_only that, because we have the other ingredients. p/s: jaehyun and jibeom wanna join us for baking later, so maybe you can run down to buy some take-outs? tq joo._

Joochan takes another look at the post-it note Donghyun left on their fridge, making sure to have three ingredients memorized before entering the supermarket. Jibeom is with him too, but somewhere behind, trying to take one trolley but somehow making himself embarrassed in front of everyone because the trolley was stuck and no matter how hard he pulled, it didn’t budge and that is when Joochan decides to run inside.

Joochan looks back to check on Jibeom, who is running across the parking lot with a fully-functioned trolley and a satisfied smile on his face. 

They walk from aisle to aisle, picking out the correct ingredient and before they join the queue at the counter, Joochan stops them halfway.

“Look,” Joochan points at an ice cream and frozen novelties section, “Mint chocolate ice cream!” He walks over to the section with a happy skip along the way. “Should I buy this for Donghyun? He really likes mint chocolate.”

Jibeom arrives at the section a few seconds after, with their trolley only a quarter-filled of baking ingredients. While Joochan inspects every corner of the ice cream box, Jibeom spots bottles of Hershey’s syrup. He takes a bottle and somehow Joochan turns to look at him before looking at the trolley.

“You know, I don’t feel good if we go to the counter with only these three things in our trolley.”

Jibeom takes that as a sign of approval to fill their trolley with more things, and by things, they mean food. 

“Yeah, I feel you, bro. Besides, Jaehyun really likes this strawberry-flavoured Hershey’s.”

Joochan takes a moment of silence, possibly to calculate the remaining money he has with him before he puts a box of mint chocolate ice cream and another Hershey’s flavoured syrup inside the trolley.

“And Donghyun really likes this sundae cream.”

“Jaehyun likes cherry-flavoured, but I don’t think this cherry ice cream is going to taste the same like the one at BR.”

“But I guess vanilla ice cream and strawberry can be a great combination.”

“Maybe we should really get real strawberries.”

“Oh, clementines. Jaehyun likes those.”

And as they walk around the aisles, their trolley, which was a quarter-filled, is full with boxes of ice creams, bottles of Hershey’s, fruits, berries - oh god, Donghyun is going to kill Joochan, that’s for sure.

The sound of beeping at the counter keeps adding concurrently to the price on the display screen and Joochan prays silently that he has enough money even after Jibeom tips in some. It doesn’t take them long enough to make way towards the parking lot because they need to take the ice cream back home hurriedly before it melts. 

“You’re so dead, Hong Joochan.” Jibeom reminds as he readies himself to open the door with a grocery bag in his hand. Joochan is busy trying to fish out the car keys when suddenly he gets a call from Donghyun.

“Speaking of the devil,” Joochan ignores the call and immediately goes inside of the car. “Back me up if I’m in trouble.”

“Oh, for sure you are, Joochan.” Jibeom laughs heartily because one’s misery is another’s joy. That’s how friendship works between them.

“By the way,” Jibeom continues with a hint of curiosity in his voice, “What are you going to do about him?”

Joochan doesn’t turn to glance at Jibeom like how he used to do whenever someone asks him something. Instead, he focuses on the road ahead, grabbing on the steering wheel a bit tighter and sitting straighter than before. Even Jibeom knows something without questioning Joochan, because apparently ‘him’ really matters a lot to Joochan to the point it concerns Jibeom a lot. It hurts to see his friend trying to hide his feelings all this while. And frustrating too.

But Jibeom knows the reason why Joochan does so. Ruining years of friendship over a huge crush is something Joochan planning to avoid at all cost. And it frustrates him even more when Joochan plays dumb because Jibeom knows, in fact everyone knows.

“What about him?”

“Aren’t you going to tell about your big fat crush on him? Because from what I see, it reciprocates.”

The car comes to a halt when the traffic light turns red and Joochan’s eyes still fixated on the road, can feel how Jibeom is eyeing at him with much annoyance and less patience.

“He once told me that he wants to focus on studies and actually graduating. I think he has enough things to think about right now. Plus, he even said that he likes being comfortable first, like sharing anything and everything, being himself without having to pretend. So, I guess whatever we are now is more than enough, looking by how comfortable he is with me.”

“You’re telling me you’re going to keep quiet about this?” Jibeom barks out a suppressed laugh. “Soon you’re going to regret it.” 

 

**December, 23rd**

The baking session last night went quite well, minus the fact that only Donghyun who was doing all the work while the other three ended up talking about the new Vanessa Hudgens’ movie, it was the Princess Switch or something if Donghyun not mistaken.

Anyway, Donghyun was okay with it, that’s how they normally were, because even if they were slow in helping, they still did their part, like how Jaehyun rolled rounded of teaspoonful of dough into balls and placed onto the ungreased cookie sheet, how Jibeom was in charge of preheating the oven and monitoring the baked cookies inside, how Joochan kept his eyes on the timer.

More or less, they managed to bake quite a number of trays before midnight, so Donghyun was fine.

What concerned Donghyun was when he woke up very early in the morning to find one side of his bed empty. He knows Joochan long enough to notice his habit in eating the cookies before packing, which resulting in lesser amount of cookies the very next morning. 

With the thought of another baking session back in mind, Donghyun went outside, hopefully still early enough to catch Joochan from eating too much. But he wasn’t prepared when he heard voices coming from the kitchenette. Voices, yes, voices, which means some people were talking in the kitchenette and once Donghyun was close enough to distinguish which one is whose, he stopped to hide behind a wall.

“You do notice that you’re not the only one who’s playing this game, right?”

That was Jaehyun’s voice.

“Yes, Jaehyun, but you also know that it takes two to play this game, am I right?”

And that was Joochan’s voice.

“Fair enough.”

That was definitely Jibeom’s.

Donghyun wondered why the three of them were awake at this godly hour, but it was not a mistake anymore when he heard a banging sound. What comes next was a silence, an alarming silence with a slow “Shush” because most likely this discussion in the kitchenette with a half-empty tray of cookies wasn’t supposed to happen in the first place.

“Beom-ie, careful. You’re going to wake Donghyun up and we don’t want that to happen.”

Jaehyun broke the silence after what felt like a minute and Jibeom immediately apologized.

“Anyway, what I meant to tell you is that I’m planning something with Jibeom and if we see you’re hesitating, you’re going to tell him what you feel and that’s final.”

“Oh god! Guys, please. You don’t have to this, I mean, I’ll find some way to let him know.”

“No, Joochan! I’m not going to let that happen. See how many years it has been yet you guys are nowhere near confessing.”

“Not fair, though. You guys know how Donghyun is. Okay, at least you guys tell me what you’re planning, then I’ll think about it.”

There was another silence, but this time wasn’t as alarming as before because Donghyun heard a sigh coming from Jaehyun. After a minute of contemplating, Jaehyun spoke again.

“Fine. We’re planning to give you two mistletoes, you know, just so we have an excuse to make you guys be under it and push things a bit faster. Let the mistletoe does the magic.”

Donghyun didn’t have to see how surprised Joochan was because the pause was enough to tell. Even he was surprised, but it was expected coming from Jaehyun. He always does this kind of things. Sure, Jaehyun and Jibeom want to help, Donghyun understands that, but he prefers that things to work out on its own without other people interfering. Because Donghyun believes that, if it’s meant to be, it will be. No matter how long it will take, no matter how long it had been, if it’s meant to be, it will be.

However, for Jaehyun and Jibeom, it’s frustrating to see, what more to those who has to live with. Point taken to be honest, it is frustrating to the point that Donghyun really wants to tell Joochan straight to his face sometimes, so Donghyun concludes: what is the point of pretending when both sides seem to be on the same page? Maybe this time, this Christmas, after so many years, he will participate in this plan. Even if it means kissing Joochan in front of his friends, which he will be more embarrassed to do compared to when they are left alone.

But, whatever. Let’s just kiss Joochan and get this over with.

“Are you guys out of your mind? Donghyun will be pissed off, I’m su-”

“No, Joochan. You don’t have to worry. I told him the same thing too. Really. I assure you he is well-aware about this plan.”

“Did you guys tell him about it too?”

“Well, I didn’t tell him exactly what we’re planning, but he knew we had something for you two.”

“You see, Joochan. Maybe this time you will know what he feels towards you. If he hesitate to kiss you, then maybe he feels something for you, because seriously, friends can joke around, a kiss doesn’t really matter. Hesitation is a good sign, Joochan. Believe me.”

“God, why are you guys my friends?”

“Keep it down, Joochan. We don’t want to wake Donghyun up.”

Enough is enough.

Donghyun didn’t want to eavesdrop more of the discussion, but at the same time he wanted his friends to stop talking and went back to sleep already. The cookies were getting lesser and lesser as time went by. So, he went back to his room, just to open the door and close it back, this time quite loud to send signals to those in the kitchenette. And it worked.

“Hyun?” Joochan’s voice echoed throughout the hallway.

Donghyun walked straight to the kitchenette this time, no more hiding behind a wall and pretending to rub the sleep away from his eyes. “What are you guys doing?”

And to his surprise, one tray of cookies were pretty much empty. He put up an act, trying to be mad from the loss of cookies and they seemed to believe when they immediately cleaned up the mess and promised to make another tray in instant.

 

**Christmas Eve**

Finally, it’s the day for their annually hot chocolate and monopoly time, but it’s also the first time Donghyun and Joochan spend almost the entire day cleaning and decorating their entire apartment. All because Jaehyun insisted to and for sure, he will not leave Donghyun and Joochan on their own anymore. Jaehyun and Jibeom also did their part in making the apartment looks less messy and more homey.

Not to mention, Jaehyun even went to buy a Christmas tree that can fit through their front door. To say that Donghyun was surprised is an understatement, but Joochan showed a different reaction when he jumped in joy. A gummy smile stretched across his face as he immediately gave Jaehyun a helping hand and settled the tree at a corner of the living room. Jibeom came a few minutes later, hands full with paper bags of Christmas ornaments, decorations for the tree and on the wall, candles and stockings, all of it.

After Jibeom put the paper bags down, Jaehyun casually grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the apartment. Donghyun wasn’t ready for their next antics, but Jaehyun was fast to shout loud enough before he disappeared behind the closed door.

“I’m going to buy take-outs for tonight, bye!”

Donghyun was left speechless, standing like a statue in the kitchenette as he tried to process what just happened. But, not Joochan. He was so excited to see the Christmas tree in their living room, thus he immediately went to check what’s inside the paper bags.

“Hyun,” Joochan called out, “Don’t be too surprised, you would’ve known how Jaehyun and Jibeom by now. So, if you could just come here and help me decorate, that’ll be much appreciated.”

And they really did decorate, not just the tree, but also anything they could, like how Joochan remembered the decorations Donghyun bought the other day so he went to search for it, and how Donghyun went out of their storage room with a small tent for decoration, blankets came next and they even reorganized the couch and coffee table. They really gave their all in making this Christmas the best, at least for themselves after so many years.

From the moment where the sun was brightly shining above their heads, now it’s slowly descending and replaces with a darker shade of sky. But even after they took a quick shower and nicely dressed in their sleepwear, Jaehyun and Jibeom were nowhere to be found in the apartment.

But Donghyun just shrugs and Joochan takes that as a signal.

Soon enough, Joochan comes out of his room with monopoly in his hands, but he pauses for a moment when the living room looks like a mess because of the blankets Donghyun threw out earlier.

“Hyun!” Joochan screams over his shoulder, “You could’ve at least put the blankets on the couch.”

A reply comes a second after.

“Sorry!”

And almost immediately, Donghyun comes to join Joochan at the living room, with two mugs of hot chocolate. “Is it too early?”

Joochan flashes a pleased smile at Donghyun once he receives the hot chocolate and hums in contentment when he takes a sip. “It is never too early for hot chocolate.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Donghyun sits down next to Joochan, grabbing the remote control and switching on the television. Even when he knows he won’t be able to watch whatever there is on the television, he still pretends to watch it because 1) he can’t stop thinking about how to tell Joochan what he really feels and 2) he doesn’t want to make it awkward between them. Sure, this feeling reciprocates, he noticed that, but there is just something that bothers him. 

He doesn’t want to do this, just because Jaehyun and Jibeom push them to do. He wants to do this because he really wants to, and he hopes Joochan feels the same way about this.

So, before Jaehyun and Jibeom arrive at the front door with the take-outs they promised, Donghyun carefully puts his free hand on top of Joochan’s, looking at how their hands touch one another and their fingers don’t really fit in between the gaps. Donghyun laughs at that because even if their fingers don’t fit like the missing pieces to a puzzle, they can still hold hands and interlace fingers just how they want it.

It catches Joochan by surprise, his eyes are a size bigger with a hint of curiosity but Donghyun takes that as a good start. And what comes next really catches Joochan off guard.

“So, tomorrow, are we going to fake it or going with their plan?”

Joochan couldn’t really express how surprised he is; he doesn’t even realize when he instinctively jumps back, but Donghyun is fast enough to pull his hand and bring him closer. His reaction that comes afterwards is close to comical, Donghyun can’t hold himself back from laughing. Joochan is really something, Donghyun knows, all this time he just doesn’t want to admit it. But something is different this time, maybe because of the Christmas tree. Most likely to be.

“Y-you knew?” Joochan stutters, trying to cover his face with the half-emptied mug, because his brain goes clueless with the fact that Donghyun knew but pretended like he didn’t. Short-circuited even. Never knew Donghyun had this side of him, quite playful he must say. Really, even after so many years of befriending each other, Joochan couldn’t be more amazed to learn the new side of Donghyun.

“I know,” Donghyun simply replies, throws his eye-smile, looking almost innocent and cute if Joochan being honest. A minute passes by just like that and they spend looking at each other, trying to find something behind their hazel eyes, fingers carefully interlacing with one another, trying to familiarize with the changing dynamic.

It feels _weird_.

But Donghyun doesn’t complain, he likes this kind of weirdness. No, he likes holding Joochan’s hand like this, wants to hold both of Joochan’s hands, wants to hold Joochan right there and then. Yet, at the back of his mind, he wants to make sure that Joochan knows, because it’s not fair if he doesn’t. And so he starts:

“Joo, you do know I like you, right?”

A fit of coughing echoes throughout the living room and Donghyun waits for Joochan to calm down with a smile that’s more intense, deeper in affection but in the most subtle way. Joochan keeps his eyes on his now emptied mug because looking at Donghyun without blushing is close to impossible at the moment.

“Kinda,” Joochan mutters before connecting his lips with the mug, trying to finish the last drop, since Donghyun keeps his eyes on him and that is the only thing that escapes him from being bashful because truthfully, Donghyun’s eyes on him somehow gives strange tingle in his stomach. Donghyun doesn’t need to know that.

“Okay, well. I like you.” Donghyun gives a reassuring squeeze on his hand and Joochan takes a moment before he looks at Donghyun in the eyes.

“Ah… yeah,” Joochan clears his throat, trying to find the courage to tell and the words to form a sentence. “I, uh… I like you too… if you’re curious.”

But when Donghyun throws himself back just to laugh his ass off, pushing away the awkwardness that slowly creeps in, Joochan is finally able to find his smile again. One thing about Donghyun is that he cries whenever he laughs too hard, not a bad kind of cry, it’s the opposite and it’s definitely beautiful. Donghyun is beautiful, indeed he is, even if he doesn’t know. Joochan reminds himself to not tell Donghyun because he doesn’t need to know that too.

When the laughing dies down, they both look at their mugs, swirling it in the air, trying to find the right words to say, and Donghyun being the older one, he feels the responsibility to lead because whenever he leads, he knows Joochan will always follow.

“We don’t have to change anything, you know. We can just be like our normal selves. Except now, we can holds hands and I don’t know, do other gay things as Jaehyun said, without beating around the bush.”

Joochan replies with a hearty laugh. “We always do gay things.”

“We do,” Donghyun nods, giving Joochan a smile which he never did before, because as they say, there is always first time in everything and that smile is something too fond, even Joochan has to look away from it. “I guess, we can just play along with their plan and see their reactions, because isn’t that the best?”

“No, let them taste their own medicine, it’s payback time.”

Another silence creeps in but it’s different this time, it’s somewhere between comfortable and familiar, something both of them really enjoy, because even if they don’t say anything, finally their hearts start to sing along to the same song.

“Joo,” Donghyun mutters under his breath, not wanting to scare the comfortable silence away. “I didn’t know you’re the shy type when it comes to this. Because I usually imagine you being the loud one, the expressive one between us.”

“You know what,” Joochan tries to let go of his hand, but even though he tries to pretend as if he is not embarrassed from the statement, the smile on his face says otherwise. “I take it back. I hate you.”

Donghyun knows for sure now, that Joochan never have been a good liar.

 

**Merry Christmas**

It was a complete mess.

And by mess, Donghyun meant a good one because Jaehyun and Jibeom knocked on the door a few minutes after their confession time. He whispered to Joochan to not be nervous and act normal, or something in between, because like Joochan said, two can play this game. So, if Jaehyun and Jibeom were planning to get them together under a mistletoe, they can also take part by tricking them into something they didn’t expect.

Donghyun asked Joochan to take off his shirt, making sure the younger guy’s hair looked suspiciously messy and as Joochan tiptoed towards the front door, Donghyun signalled him something like _you put on your shirt in front of them, yeah, yeah like that_.

Joochan laughed slowly, trying to muffle the sound with his shirt when Donghyun went to take off his shirt too, ruffling his hair as messy as it could be and quickly hiding under a blanket on the couch. Donghyun showed a thumb’s up and that was when their play started.

Jaehyun and Jibeom weren’t expecting it, really. Donghyun had to admit, even if Joochan is not a good liar, he is good at putting up an act, because for sure Jaehyun and Jibeom didn’t want to believe what their eyes just saw; a suspiciously half naked Joochan with his bed hair and a suspiciously half naked Donghyun under the blanket.

Jaehyun unconsciously dropped the chicken on the floor.

Seeing is believing.

“What…..”

Jibeom was speechless, trying to comprehend what lies in front of him.

As Joochan tried to not break into a laughing fit, he went next to Donghyun, sitting at the very edge of the couch as he tried to wake the older guy up.

“Hyun, _baby_ , wake up. They’re here.”

Donghyun had to turn around, back facing the guests and hide his smile under the blanket, because he didn’t want to see how completely, utter shock painted on their faces, or else he would laugh right there and then. And yes, Donghyun needed a moment, because for sure, he didn’t expect Joochan to call him ‘ _baby_ ’ in front of everyone. Joochan really put an extra effort in this play.

Their act went on during dinner, even during their annually monopoly session, because the look on Jaehyun and Jibeom’s faces were priceless and they still couldn’t recover from the shock, as if they didn’t know what to do next or if they really should believe what they saw. Yes, sure, they left Donghyun and Joochan alone for almost a day, but somehow this Donghyun and this Joochan were like different personas. How can they say, it doesn’t feel like Donghyun and Joochan at all.

Maybe someone kidnapped their friends and replaced with a doppelganger. Maybe, that’s possible too. It’s Christmas after all, anything is possible during Christmas.

Once it was past midnight, they decided to call it a night and slept in the living room, with blankets all over them, keeping them warm and close to each other. Sure, to Jaehyun and Jibeom, it was unusual to see how clingy Joochan was towards Donghyun and the other way around, but they brushed it off because they were going to proceed with their master plan in the morning.

_Just you wait, Kim Donghyun, Hong Joochan._

And the next morning comes in a blink of an eye, because for a person named Kim Donghyun, he had barely enough sleep. Having Joochan so close to him, even if it feels familiar, it feels weird at some point. Weird since they are open about their feelings and Donghyun doesn’t really know what took them so long.

More than seven years that is.

Maybe because Jaehyun and Jibeom came into their lives and didn’t really want to go elsewhere because they wanted to stay and spend the Christmas together, yes - thanks to Jaehyun and Jibeom for that.

Maybe because Donghyun was so happy to see how over the moon Jaehyun and Jibeom were towards one another, how on cloud nine it can be once two hearts become one, how full of joys of the spring being in love can be even when it’s snowing outside, and Donghyun is curious about those kind of feelings too.

Maybe, out of thousand reasons he has to hide his feelings from Joochan, there this one reason that encourages him to do the opposite, and maybe, just maybe, that one reason is Joochan himself. So, thanks to Joochan too.

Maybe, after more than five Christmas not knowing what he really wants as present, this is the first time he knows and even without telling people what it is, by any grossly power of love, he is more than happy when his present is sleeping next to him, with light snores filling in the silence of early morning. So this time around, Donghyun decides to be honest with Joochan, but most importantly, with himself.

When the sun starts to shine through the cracks of curtain by the window, he looks over his shoulder, as slowly as he can be to not wake anyone up and what he sees is the gayest thing he has ever witnessed in his whole life because there they are, Jaehyun and Jibeom cuddling each other in deep sleep. One thing, he is relieved when both of his friends are still sleeping soundly. The second thing is, somehow Joochan stirs in his sleep and turns around to face Donghyun, which Donghyun hesitantly moves back to his position.

“What time is it?” Joochan asks in lieu of greeting, his voice sounds groggy and heavy with sleep.

“A quarter past seven, I think.” Donghyun simply replies, grabs his phone on the floor to double check. “Yeah, almost seven eighteen. Why?”

“Nothing,” Joochan mutters, slowly closing his eyes for a short morning nap. “Just feels like going back to sleep.”

“But it’s Christmas. Come on.” Donghyun pulls the blanket off Joochan, but the younger one doesn’t show any signs of getting up.

“But they are still sleeping.” Joochan sits up just to take the blanket from Donghyun and wraps himself under it warmly.

“I want my Christmas present.” Donghyun pouts in hope Joochan notices the double meaning behind his sentence. And yes, Joochan gets it when there is a shy smile stretches across his sleepy, morning face.

“I am right here, Hyun.” Joochan’s voice muffled behind the blanket, but despite how shy he is in front of Donghyun, his hand still makes its way to hold onto Donghyun’s. “What about me? Where’s my Christmas present?”

Joochan regrets the moment those words come out of his mouth because without waiting, Donghyun leans in and presses a soft kiss on Joochan’s cheek. As careful as Donghyun tries to be, Joochan likes it, it feels _oddly weird_ , because even when friends kiss each other’s cheeks, they shouldn’t feel the butterflies in their stomachs. Yet, Donghyun does that to him and Donghyun presses the second kiss at the corner of his lips, not quite where Joochan wants it to be but he knows Donghyun is trying to test the water before diving in much deeper depth.

Well, this is more than enough.

They sure took their time to get where they are right now, but they don’t have to rush in anything because they always have time for each other, even in the near future or more years to come. Joochan likes to believe so, because even if it took them more than five years to confess to one another, it won’t take as long to have two hearts become one.

“So,” Donghyun whispers slowly once he leans away, his breath fans over Joochan’s fringes. “later, when we open our presents from them, what do you want me to do?”

Joochan stirs in his position the second time, opens his eyes to check on Donghyun before closes it back. “I like the idea of french kisses, but maybe that will give them heart attack, so let’s try something light, just because I don’t want a bunch of paramedics at the front door on a Christmas morning.”

Donghyun laughs a bit too loud and pauses himself a second after just to look over at his sleeping friends. “You’re being ridiculous, you know that, right?”

“I know and you love it.”

“I do.”

Actually, they don’t need mistletoe in excuse to kiss each other. Seriously, mistletoe doesn’t have to do the magic because Christmas does it for them.

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas to you guys~ Be sure to have the merriest, most joyful Christmas with your beloved ones (unlike me who is stuck in a country an ocean away from my family). Don't forget to keep in touch with those who cares about you and be sure, to keep them close, because in this world where small things are often taken lightly, it's sure as hell very rare to have them in life. So, go go and don't wait another minute to wish them a very merry Christmas too.


End file.
